Dr. Pothana's Teaching

1. Jeremiah
The Weeping Prophet
Change before
the end begins

2. The
Weeping
Prophet
JEREMIAH

3. JEREMIAH
“The Weeping
Prophet”

4. To which kingdom was Jeremiah a
prophet?
Judah
Jeremiah began his ministry
BEFORE the fall of his kingdom.

5. The date of the events discussed in
Jeremiah took place between 627
and 517 B.C.

6. Jeremiah 1:1-2
The words of Jeremiah, the
son of Hilkiah, of the priests who
were in Anathoth in the land of
Benjamin, 2 to whom the word of
the LORD came in the days of
Josiah, the son of Amon, king of
Judah, in the thirteenth year of
his reign

7. Isaiah Jeremiah
Saw the Northern Kingdom of
Israel taken into Captivity at
the hands of Assyria
Saw the Southern Kingdom of
Judah taken into Captivity at
the hands of Babylon
Isaiah foretold of the
judgments that would come in
the future
Jeremiah explained the
reasons for the judgments that
Judah was experiencing
Looks primarily to the future Looks primarily to the present
Bold and fearless Gentle and compassionate
Was married to a prophetess
and had children with prophetic
names
Was commanded not to take a
wife or have any children

8. Chapter 1 Chapters 2-20 Chapters 21-45
Chapters
46-51
Chapter 52
Prologue Epilogue
From Josiah to
the first year of
Nebuchadnezzar
From Josiah’s
sons to the
Captivity
Oracles
for the
Nations
Call of
Jeremiah
Judgment against Judah Nations
Fall of
Jerusalem
Call of Jeremiah (1)
Prophecies of Judah and Jerusalem (2-35)
Historical Narrative: Prior to the Fall of Jerusalem (36-38)
Historical Narrative: Fall of Jerusalem (39).
Historical Narrative: After the Fall of Jerusalem (40-45)
Prophecies of other Nations (46-51)
Fall of Jerusalem (52)

9. Purpose
 Though Yahweh used Babylon to judge Judah
and Jerusalem because of her sin, a day
would come when Babylon herself would be
judged and Israel would be restored beyond
her former glory.

10. 10
Ministry of Jeremiah
Prophecies Before the
Fall of Jerusalem
1. Prophecies during
Josiah’s reign (1-12)
2. Prophecies during
Jehoiakim’s reign (13-20,
25-26, 35-36)
3. Prophecies during the
reign of Jehoiakim and
Zedekiah (45-51)
4. Prophecies during
Zedekiah’s reign (21-24,
27-34, 37-39,52)
Prophecies After the Fall
of Jerusalem
1. Prophecies to the
remnant in Judah (40-42)
2. Prophecies to the
remnant in Egypt (43-44)
BookofLamentations
586
B.C.
Chapters 1-39 Chapters 40-52

11. 11
Destruction
Four Themes
1. Rebuke
2. Warning
Emphasis
People’s sin
God’s right.
Time
Present (2:1ff)
Future (23-
26,31)
Construction
3. Invitation
4. Consolation
God’s grace
People’s
hope
Present (3:1ff)
Future (23:1-
40; 30:4-11;
32:37-41;
33:14-26)
Jeremiah’s Message
“See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the
kingdoms, To root out and to pull down, To destroy and to throw
down, To build and to plant.”1:10

12. 12
Purpose
• Key Purpose:
– Historical purpose: How God judged Judah by
using the Babylonians (1:13-16; 25:9)
– Doctrinal purpose: Righteousness exalts a nation,
but sin is a reproach …
– Messianic purpose: Christ will bring a new
covenant (31:31-34)

13. Jeremiah's prophecies aren't
arranged in a chronological order
but in a topical order.
a. Basic Outline
1) Call and Commission of
Jeremiah (1)
2) Prophecies concerning Judah
(2-45)
3) Prophecies concerning the
Nations (46-51)
4) Historical supplement (52)

14. I. We need to accept the task that God
has given us (1:4-10).
A. God comes to Jeremiah and is going to ask
him to do a very difficult thing.
B. God knew Jeremiah from before he was born
(1:4-5).
1. Jeremiah was important to God, even before
he
was born.
a. God had plans for Jeremiah.
b. Jeremiah was “sanctified,” or set apart for a
special purpose.
2. We also are important to God.
a. There is a purpose to our lives.
b. Ecc. 12:13 - Let us hear the conclusion of the
whole matter: Fear God, and keep His
commandments: for this is the whole duty of
man.

16. Lessons from Jeremiah
 The lesson of God’s Sovereignty.
 The lesson of God’s Justice.
 The lesson of God’s Grace.
 The lesson of Leadership

18. “The
Potter,
The Clay
and The
Clean
Vessel”
Jeremiah 18:1-6

19. Jeremiah 18:1-6
1 The word which came to Jeremiah from the
LORD, saying:
2 "Arise and go down to the potter's house, and
there I will cause you to hear My words."
3 Then I went down to the potter's house, and
there he was, making something at the wheel.
4 And the vessel that he made of clay was marred
in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into
another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to
make.

20. 5 Then the word of the LORD came to me,
saying:
6 "O house of Israel, can I not do with you as
this potter?" says the LORD. "Look, as the clay
is in the potter's
hand, so are you
in My hand, O house
of Israel!
New King James Version

22. Jeremiah – His Struggles
 No prophet wrote much about his own
agony except Jeremiah. (12, 20)
“O Lord , you deceived me, and I was deceived; you
overpowered me and prevailed.” (20:7)
“Cursed be the day I was born!” (20:14)
 But
“You are always righteous, O Lord” (12)
“But the Lord is with me like a mighty warrior” (20:11)

23. Jeremiah – His Sufferings
 Threatened and persecuted by people
“Do not prophesy in the name of the Lord or you will
die by our hands” (11:21)
 Social rejection, Betrayed by his own relatives
 Mocked and ridiculed by people.
 Accused of treason, beaten, and imprisoned
 Thrown into a muddy cistern, sank in the mud,
and left starving for dead
 (Stoned to death in Egypt  tradition)

24. Jeremiah = We
 called when we were very young.
 kingdom of priests – Bible teachers
 carrying unpopular messages.
 rejected and ignored many times.
 struggle with sheep

25. Conclusion (What I learned)
 People like good things to hear. They deceive
themselves having false security. (military power & economy)
 How terrible idolatry is! It brings God’s wrath!
 Importance to accept the messages of warning and
repentance
 Having spiritual insight about my life and the world.
 Jeremiah’s life of mission
- used wholly as God’s instrument.
- delivered messages from God to his people faithfully.
- Obedience to the will of God until he died.
 God’s yearning heart toward Judah.
“Obey me and I will be your God and you will be my people” (7:23)

26. LAMENTATIONS
Sad Songs from a
Broken Heart

27. Structure
 Chapter 1: Destruction of Zion
 Chapter 2: Yahweh as the destroyer
 Chapter 3: Complaint and hope
 Chapter 4: Results of the destruction
 Chapter 5: Prayer: How long?

28. The date of the book’s composition was
586 – 585 B.C. (shortly after
Jerusalem fell to Babylon).

29. The theme of Lamentations is sorrow
over the destruction of Jerusalem.

30. Purpose
 To express and explain Israel’s suffering and
to provide hope for the future in the midst of
her suffering.

31. Brief Outline of the Book
• Chapter 1—
– The way of the wicked
• Chapter 2—
– The wrath of God
• Chapter 3—
– The weight of sorrow
• Chapter 4—
– The want of help
• Chapter 5—
– The wreck of iniquity

32. The Five Poems
• First Poem—
– Represents Jerusalem as a weeping widow, mourning in
solitude over the misery of the exiles, with “none to comfort”
(v.2,9,17,21), “no rest” (v.3), “no pasture” (v.6), “no
comforter” (v.9).
• Second Poem—
– Jerusalem, as a woman veiled with a cloud, grieves over
the ruin of Zion and the sins of the people that moved God
to throw down the city.

33. • Third Poem—
– Jerusalem, represented by the weeping prophet,
mourns before the Most High, whose judgments
are just. He appeals to the people to again “turn
to the Lord” (v.40), and to God to judge their
cause and recompense their enemies,
“according to the works of their hands” (vs.
59-64).
The Five Poems

34. • Fourth Poem—
– Jerusalem, represented as gold, now dimmed
and changed; as snow now blacker than coal.
Zion’s remembrance of former days contrasts the
past with the present. Her enemies will be
destroyed when “the punishment of thine
iniquity is accomplished, O daughter of Zion;
he will no more carry thee away into
captivity” (v.22).
The Five Poems

35. • Fifth Poem—
– Jerusalem, penitent, confesses her sins (v.7) and
pleads with God not to “forget us forever,” but
to “turn us unto thee, O Lord, and we shall be
turned; renew our days as of old” (v.20,21).
The Five Poems

36. Three Major Truths
• Sin brings great tribulation and sorrow.
• If the backsliding people had but returned to
God, their bondage could have been
avoided.
• Divine chastening disciplines God’s people.

37. Purpose
• Astonishing collection of images of sorrow,
but that’s not all…
• Lamentations has come forward repeatedly
to enable men to express themselves during
grief, leading them to feel that they might
give utterance to the deepest and saddest
feelings, and that God will truly listen!

38. Other Practical Lessons
• God’s children can “fall from grace” and be
taken captive by sin!
• God’s word is true. His punishment of the
Jews fulfilled prophecy and proved the
certainty of His word and His wrath against
evil doers.
• The sinfulness of God’s people causes
His enemies to blaspheme.

39. • True hope for the humble and penitent
• God’s love and care are constant.
• As in Job’s case, Jeremiah never lost hope.
• The Jews had sown the wind, and now they
must reap the whirlwind.
• Jeremiah’s great love and concern for his
people—demonstrated by mourning and
weeping!
Other Practical Lessons